Cook Children’s Medical Center is getting ready to open an expansion of the Dodson Specialty Clinics in the Medical District in March.

The $100 million project includes a nine-story addition along 8th Avenue to provide a more convenient experience for patients and their families who are visiting one of the 35+ specialty clinics.

The original six-story Dodson Specialty Clinics (500 Cooper St.) was built in 2012 and houses nearly all of Cook Children’s outpatient clinics, doctors’ offices, and a six-operating room ambulatory surgery and imaging center.

The new facility spans 240,000 sqft and will house six new services — including surgery, imaging, dialysis, infusion, neurology, and oncology — under one roof. The expansion will support a number of new additions like a maternal/fetal medicine clinic, a cafe, pharmacy, and retail space, to name a few. Here’s a look at what else is new.

A look at the current construction process as of Friday, Jan. 20. | Photo by FTWtoday

Peaks Tech Zone 📲

A new self-service space will give families an opportunity for one-on-one assistance from a health technology advocate — called a techspert — who will help visitors with everything from setting up their MyCookChildren’s patients portal, to syncing their phone to medical devices, and learning how to utilize virtual care.

Sibling Support Center 🎨

Kids will have a safe and fun place to get involved with creative arts activities, music, and video games, during their sibling’s clinic appointment. Located on the first floor, the space will be open to kids ages 3-12, Monday through Friday, for up to 90 minutes per visit.

Jane and John Justin Institute for Mind Health 🩺

Slated to open this fall, the Justin Institute will simplify the patient’s access to their medical team by incorporating overlapping specialties associated with the nervous system under one roof. The new addition is designed to eliminate barriers and help medical providers coordinate better care.

Parking garage 🚗

Patients and physicians can get to their appointments easier thanks to a new 10-story parking garage. An intelligent parking system will alert drivers to the number of spaces available, making self-parking more efficient and reliable.

According to its website, the new parking garage will be open beginning Monday, March 20.